1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communications control method, a communications control system, and a wireless telephone device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a communications control method, a communications control system, and a wireless telephone device in which communications may be suppressed by way of a communications suppressing signal, and in which when communications is suppressed, an automatic response is performed upon reception of an incoming call.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the spread of wireless telephone devices, in places where ring tones of wireless telephone devices and conversations using these devices may be considered inconsiderate by others, for example, inside vehicles of public transport such as trains and buses as well as in concert halls, it is becoming common to request that usage of wireless telephone devices be refrained from or to take measures to disable communications. It is also requested that usage of wireless telephone devices while driving be refrained from in order to prevent accidents.
To meet such requests, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 2,938,059 “Calling Apparatus and Method for a Mobile Telephone Device for Use in Automobiles,” a mobile telephone device is prohibited to signal an incoming call while the user is driving a car at low speed or even while the user is stopped at a red light. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-92190 “Method of Absence Notification for a Wireless Telephone Device,” an absence notification message is pre-recorded, and when an in-coming call is received, a caller is notified with a preset absence notification message.
Further, for cases where the safety or whereabouts of an elderly or visually handicapped person who is away needs to be ascertained immediately, patent applications have been filed for inventions which enable multi-modal absence notification messages, or selection of the kind of absence notification to be performed from options such as “business negotiation” “meeting” “sleeping” “eating” “bathing” “theatre” “train” “lecture” “attending to a customer” so that the reason a call cannot be answered is clarified
In the above-mentioned method, because an operation mode for notifying an absence notification message by way of an automatic response must be set in advance, it isn't exactly easy to use. Further, modes in which communications is disabled render the wireless telephone device unusable, however, in an emergency, unless the wireless telephone device is made usable, be it inside vehicles of public transport, convenience is lost.